HEY!!
It’s been such an awesome week! I love the Assomada zone so much. We have a lot of new missionaries here that are ready to work and are really looking to baptize. This zone hasn’t done so well in the past, but I really think its going to pick up. This week I totally forgot it was my birthday. We were in our correlation meeting and our ward mission leader said, does anyone have a birthday this month? And I said yeah, and then I looked at my watch and realized that it was that day ha-ha. I totally forgot, but the sisters that are working here made some super good oatmeal cookies for my birthday, super nice.
This week was sweet! Ze and Nininha were married this week, it was truly incredible! We had a family night at Nininhas salon the night before with a bunch of members of the ward. We talked about how the gospel blesses families and the importance of marriage in the family. Marriage is ordained by God, it is a commandment, and I can tell you that it brings so much happiness. Both Nininha and Ze began to cry as they talked about their experience in the church and preparation for marriage, it was truly a special moment.
The actual wedding happened on Friday. The best man and bridesmaid (I think that’s what it’s called) had just arrived Friday morning for Brazil. They went to be sealed in the temple and made it back right in time to be their for the marriage. We took a bunch of pictures, it was great. Afterwards, they had a little party in the salon. They had a bunch of huge pots cooking rice, cachupa (special dish of Cabo Verde, corn, beans, meat, broth) and other dishes of meat and potatoes. It’s actually super good. They had a TON of food, and a lot of members came, it was great.
Even better, on Saturday, they were baptized. Overall we had the baptism of Ze and Nininha, their daughter Erika and a young man named Wilson. They all are SO incredible, I love each one of them so much. They had really taken the gospel and lived it and now they are receiving the blessings, it’s so incredible.
At church yesterday we had part of a new family come to church, their names are Lucia, Clarinda, and Zani. They are all sisters. They are only part of a family that we just began teaching. They have accepted baptism and are doing really well. We have been finding lots of new people and their is just so much work to do.
We have a lot planned for this next week, I sure how everything works out well and we can continue to be an instrument in the Lords hands. I truly love this gospel, it’s the best thing that anyone could ever have or share. I continue to gain so much counsel for the Book of Mormon every single day. I wish I had more than 2 or 3 hours to study every day, there is so much to learn and so little time. Read the book of Mormon every single day, without fail, you will become so happy. It’s when we stop to do the little things like reading and sincere prayers and paying attention in church that we fall into the temptations of the adversary. This church is true.
Love,
Elder Rice